Concrete structure



July so, 1929. R. P. DI'JRHAM 1,722,970

CONCRETE STRUCTURE Filed June 16. 1926 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 July 30, 1929.R, P, DURHAM 1,722,970

CONCRETE STRUCTURE Filed June 16. 1926 4 Sheet-Sheeh 5 July 30, 1929.

R. P. DURHAM CONCRETE STRUCTURE Filed June 16, 1926 4 Sheets-Sheet 4Patented July 30, 1929 UNITED STATES 1,722,970 PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT PAUL DURHAM, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO MACDONALDENGINEER- ING- COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

CONCRETE STRUCTURE.

Application filed June 16, 1926. Serial No. 11s,395.

This invention relates to that class of structures having compartmentsor bins which are suitable for use as containers, for receiving,containing and discharging granular or finely divided material, such,for example, as cement in dry or powdered form, or grain, or othermaterial.

The principal object of the invention is to provide an improved, simple,economical and eiiicient structure having compartments or bins which areadapted to be used for receiving, containing and discharging granular,powdered or finely divided material, and provided with means forintroducand means for discharging the same therefrom economically andefliciently; and more particularly, to provide a structure comprising inits construction a plurality or se ries of circular or approximatelycircular compartments arranged, by preference, in parallel rows, andhaving integral connected upright walls of reentorced concrete, saidwalls forming angular or quadrangular compartments which are locatedbetween the circular compartments and by preference, between and inalignment with the circular compartments in each of a series of rows ofcompartments, and adapted to enable a main supply conduit to beconnected with said compartments, and a discharging conduit to bemounted beneath and connected with the compartments in each of saidparallel rows of compartments, respectively, and suitable conveyors tobe mounted in or operated in connection with the charging anddischarging conduits.

Other and further objects of the invention will appear "from thefollowing description and claims, and from an inspection of theaccompanying drawings, which are made a part hereof.

The invention consists in the features,-

combinations, details of construction and arrangement of parts hereindescribed and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a view in longitudinal centralvertical section of a 'multi-compartment concrete structure constructedin accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional plan view of the structureshown in Fig. 1, takenon line 2'2 of said'figure, looking downward, asindica-ted by thearrows,

ing material into such compartments or bins,

Fig. 3 is a view in transverse vertical section taken on line 3-3 ofFig. 2 looking in the direction indicated by the arrows;

Fig. 4 is a view in transverse vertical section, taken on line 4- 1 ofFig. 2, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows;

Fig. 5 is a view in transverse vertical section, taken on line 55 ofFig. 2, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows; and

6 is an enlarged detail view in longitudinal vertical section, taken online 66 of Fig. 2, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows, andshowing one-half of the structure in section, with parts broken away oromitted.

In constructing an improved multi-compartment concrete structure inaccordance with my invention, I provide a floor 1, which is, bypreference, formed of concrete, and may be in the form of a base orbottom mattress slab, on which the bottoms or bases of the upright walls2 of the structure may be directly built and supported.

In the structure shown in the drawings, a raised bin bottom or concretefloor 3 is provided and rests directly over the bottom mattress slab orfoundation bed 1, upon upright. columns or pilasters 4, said columns orpilasters being, by preference, supported upon said bottom mattress slabor foundation bed 1 and adapted to support the concrete bin bottom orfloor 3 substantially independently oi the outer upright walls 2 of thestructure. (See Fig. 6.) The bottom portions or bases of the uprightwalls 2 may thus be supported by the bottom mattress slab or foundationbed 1 independently of the bin bottom 3, which is connected with thewalls 2 at the margins of the bin bottom and supported, by preference,by the columns 4. as already indicated.

The upright walls,including circular upright walls 5, which form therelatively large circular compartments or end bins 6, at the oppositeends of the structure, and circular upright walls 7, which form parallelrows of compartments including outer upright circular compartments orbins 8, inner upright circular compartments or bins 9, inner angularupright compartments or bins 10, and three upright side walls of each ofthe outer angular upri ht compartments or bins 11 which are locatedbetween the uprightcircular compartments 8, and the outer upright sidewalls 12, or fourth upright outer side walls of said angularcompartments or bins 11, all extend upward above the level of the binbottom or floor 3 with which said upright walls are connected.

The upright walls 5, 7 and 12 are all formed, by preference, ofmetal-reentorcet concrete, and are all integral. And any or all of saidwalls may extend upward from the mattress or foundation bed 1 to tie topof the structure, or may be integrally con nected with and extend upwardfrom the raised bin bottom or floor 3, with only the outer lower uprightwalls 2 below the level of the raised bin bottom or floor 3, as desired.

The structure is provided with a cover or root 13 which may be of anydesired ordinary and well known or suitable form.

The outer rows of alternate circular compartments or bins 8 and angularcompartments 11, and the inner row, or any desired number of inner rowsof circular compartments 9 and intermediate inner angular compartmentsor bins 10, are, by preference, in parallel relation, each inner angularcom partment 10, in the inner row or rows of compartments 9 and 10,being located be tween opposite or outer circular compartments 8 whichare in the outer rows of compartments located on opposite sides of andin parallel relation to said inner row or rows; and each circularcompartment 9 in said inner row or rows being located between angularcompartment-s or bins 11 in the adjacent rows on opposite sides of saidinner row.

It will thus be readily seen that the four walls 01 each of thequadrangular inner compartmentsor bins 1O all formed by and are integralwith the walls of adjacent circular compartments located on the foursides of said angular compartments 10, respectively. And three of theupright side walls of each of the quadrangular compart ments lfin theouter parallel side rows of compartments are all integral with andformed by theupright walls of adjacent circular compartments or bins 8in the outer rows and 9 in the inner rows of said compartments.

Each of the outer angular compartments or bins 11 is provided with anouter upright side wall 12, already mentioned, the opposite extremitiesof which are integrally connected with adjacent circular wall portions 7of upright circular compartments or bins 8 located in the same row onopposite sides of said angular compartments or bins 11, respectively.

set 01"- bins thus termed of reentorced con crete, or other similar orsuitable material, are, by preference integral and integral with thefloor or bin bottom 3 which is adapted to term the bottom of all of saidcompartments or bins.

A symmetrical, compact, strong seli sustaining structure is thusobtained which can be extended to any desired extent systematically andby merely duplicating or adding any desired number of rows or series ofcompartments all constructed and arranged consistently with thedescription, construction and arrangement of the alternate circular andquadrangular compartments and the structure herein described and shown.

The vertical centers oraxes of all of the quadrangular and circularcompartments or bins in each of the parallel rows of such compartmentsor bins, respectively, being in alignment, and the relatively large endbins being in alignment with the central or inner row, it will be readilunderstood and appreciated by those skilled in the art, that all of thecompartments or bins are thus adapted to be charged or supplied with material to be contained therein, by a single charging conveyor and asingle main charging or supply chute or conduit which may beconveniently connected by individual branch supply spouts or passageswith the respective compartments or bins to be charged or filled; andthat all of the alternate quadrangular and circular compartments or binsin each row, respectively, are adapted to be connected with adischarging conveyor and discharge chute located directly beneath theverticalcenters or axes of saidcompartments or bins, if desired.

A very desirable form of charging and discharging mechanism, forsupplying or introducing material to be contained in the compartments,respectively, and for discharging the material from the same, is showndiagrammatically in the accompanying drawings, and may be constructed asfollows:

A main charging or supply chute, spout or conduit 14 is mounted inposition to extend lengthwise of the structure directly over the tops ofthe alternate quadrangular and circular compartments or bins in thecentral row, including the two end compartments or bins 6, 6, circularcompartments or bins 9, and'angular compartments or bins l0; andindividual or branch supply spouts or con; duits 15 lead from said mainsupply conduit 14 to each of the compartments 6, 6, 9 and 10,respectively, in the central row'of compartments or' bins. Individual orbranch spouts or supply conduits 16 lead from the main supply conduit 14into the upper portion or extremity of each of the compartments 8 and11, respectively, which are located in the outer parallel side rows ofcom partments or bins. (See Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 6.)

A. helical conveyor 17 comprising a helical conveyor blade 18 fixed to asupporting shaft 19 which is rotatively mounted in suitable bearings 20at its opposite extremities, extends lengthwise of the main supply spoutor conduit 14, on the inside of the same, and is adapted to feedmaterial lengthwise of said conduit 14 and cause the material to passthrough the spouts l5 and 16 into the several compartments or bins, 6,6, 8, 9, 10 and 11, respectively.

Each of the compartments or bins, including compartments 6, 6, 8, 9, 10,and 11, is provided with one or more discharge spouts or conduits 21leading downward from the bottom of and communicating with the in teriorof said compartments or bins respectively. Each of the discharge spoutsor conduits 21 is adapted to be connected with and to empty into amanifold conduit or main discharging spout 22 located below the level ofthe bottoms of the compartments or bins from which material is to bedischarged, there being, by preference, one main discharging spout orconduit 22 for each row of compartments or bins. (See Figs. 2 and 6.)

Rotatively mounted on the inside of and extending lengthwise withrespect to each main discharging spout or conduit 22 is a helicalconveyor 23 having a helical conveyor blade 24 fixed to and encirclingand extending lengthwise of a supporting shaft 25, said shaft beingrotatively mounted in suitable bearings 26, and adapted to conveymaterial lengthwise of said conduit 22 from the mouths of the dischargespouts or conduits 21 leading into said conduit 22 from the respectivecompartments or bins.

The helical conveyors are each connected with a source of power ordriving means which may be of any ordinary and well known or desiredform. And the charging and discharging conveyor mechanism may be of anyordinary and well known or sui able form. As such conveyors and drivingmeans are in common use and well known to those skilled in the art towhich this invention relates, it'is deemed unnecessary to furtherdescribe or illustrate the same in detail herein.

I claim:

1. A structure of the class described, comprising a series of parallelrows of circular compartments having connected integral upright cementwalls, said walls forming a series of intermediate angular compartmentsbetween and in alignment with said circular compartments in each of saidrows respectively, the walls of all of said compartments beingintegrally connected, a foundation bed upon which said upright walls aresupported, a compartment bottom located above the level of saidfoundation bed and adapted to form a bottom for all of saidcompartments, and a series of upright columns in supporting engagementwith said compartment bottom.

2. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of a seriesof parallel rows of compartments, each of said rows comprising aplurality of circular compartments having integral upright walls and aplurality of angular compartments between and in alignment with saidcircular compart ments in each of said rows respectively, and a pair ofrelatively large end compartments at opposite ends of said rows, thewalls of each of said end compartments being connected with the walls ofadjacent end compartments in a plurality of said parallel rows ofcompartments.

3. In a structure of the class described, the combination of a pluralityof parallel rows of compartments having integral upright cement walls,each of said rows comprising a plurality of circular compartments and aplurality of angular compartments arranged in alternate relation and inalignment with each other in each of said rows respectively, and arelatively large end compartment lo-- cated at the end of said parallelrows and forming integral wall portions of the adjacent end compartmentsof all of said rows of compartments and a bottom for all of saidcompartments.

Signed at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, this11th day of June.

ROBERT PAUL DURHAM.

